Both the Jets and Jaguars have been hesitant to use the draft to fix the situation because of so many other needs at other positions. Sam Darnold was taken third overall in 2018 as the first first-round pick since Mark Sanchez in 2007. Sanchez took his last snap for the Jets in 2012. Second-round pick Christian Hackenburg, who has still never taken an NFL snap, was a QB faux pas in 2016.
Jacksonville took Trevor Lawrence first overall and the Jets took BYU product Zach Wilson second overall. Wilson wasn’t really on too many radars until his final season and until his film and workouts really came to the forefront. His draft stock rose very quickly, so there are some that are concerned about whether or not the Jets made the right move here.
Given that New York hasn’t had a great quarterback situation for a long time, you can understand not only the skepticism, but the outright worry. Jaded fan bases are always expecting the worst.
We’ll see what Wilson does in a major media market with a lot of expectations on his shoulders.
DraftKings Sportsbook has put out an over/under on passing yards for the rookie. Let’s break it down and see how his chances look of going over the total.
Zach Wilson Passing Yards – Over/Under 3,800.5
The Jets actually had a pretty nice draft. Zach Wilson was the first pick, but they added another offensive line piece in Alijah Vera-Tucker alongside 2020 first-rounder Mekhi Becton, who should keep improving. Chuma Edoga, one of two third-round picks in 2019, got his first four starts last season.
Protecting a young quarterback is paramount and the Jets have done well to retool and rebuild their offensive year. It is a young group, but one that should be able to grow together with the rookie signal caller this season.
Elijah Moore could be a Week 1 weapon right away out of Ole Miss, as he caught just about everything in sight for the Rebels over the last two seasons. Put him out there with Corey Davis, Jamison Crowder, and a quality tight end in Chris Herndon and the potential is there for a decent Jets offense.
What will the offensive philosophy be for the Jets? Head coach Robert Saleh comes from San Francisco, where Kyle Shanahan put together one of the most efficient ground games in the NFL. First-time offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur is Matt LaFleur’s brother, a head coach that has had success with the Green Bay Packers and has been an offensive coordinator with Tennessee and the LA Rams. He certainly comes from a football family and a football background.
We’ll see a lot of outside zone running, but also a good bit of play-action. Enough play action for Wilson to eclipse this passing yard total?
Just like the asterisk in the breakdown of Lawrence, we have 17 games this season instead of 16. Sixteen QBs went over this number in a 16-game season. Three of them even missed a game. The question is how much the Jets will let Wilson throw.
I’d have to look at the over in this one. The Jets will need to throw a lot while trailing as well and Wilson seems to have some pretty good protection here with the recent draftees on the offensive line. An injury is still very much a possibility, but I’d also expect some deep shots with this offense stemming from play-action. Other teams may have a more basic passing attack.